Questions & Answers

water shoes and aqua-socks

i made the switch to barefoot and minimalist running in february 2010, and have had no real problems with it. my longest runs during this 1 1/2 years were about 15 miles, and i've semi-raced a couple of half-marathons during that time.

but i live in tanzania, where there's... 1) no minimalist shoe market and 2) lots of off-road running (and not nice smooth trails). running barefoot very much of the time just isn't really an option for me. no matter how long i do it, i can't run fast on this terrain without something on my feet. [i can run slow, but i can't do speedwork.]

so... i've been wearing aqua-socks and water shoes that friends have sent from the states. i've tried 6 or 7 different brands and like the cudas flatwaters the best. nothing i've bought has been over 20 bucks, and some of these cost me as little as $8. here are my questions:

  1. what are the benefits of "proper" minimalist shoes over aqua-sock thingies?

  2. i'll be back in the u.s. in august for the first time in 2 1/2 years, and will have the opportunity to shop around. are there any minimalist shoes that are inexpensive? [i hate the idea of paying a ton of money for shoes we call "minimal" -- and a "ton of money" to a poor development worker might mean something different that what it normally would. unless these shoes are going to last me really a whole whole lot of miles, i can't see paying over $40 for them. i never paid more than that for my running shoes when i wore those, either...]

  3. i'd be interested to hear from others who run on bad dirt/rock roads as to how thick the soles of their shoes are. some of these water shoes still make it really tough to run in the mountains behind my house. how thick are the soles of the shoes you guys are wearing off-road?

thanks for any help that's offered.

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Answers and Replies

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  1. For me, the cheap aqua socks have quality and shape issues. My wal-mart aqua socks started falling apart in the first week I had them, and I had to wear a huge size that flops beoynd my big toes to get my little toes to fit. I still wear them as gardening shoes. I recently bought a pair of Tiva Nilch shoes that are basically higher quality aqua socks on a more foot shaped last. They were $50 and I think I'll get my money out of them. I actually don't really like most of the off the shelf minimalist shoes. There are a few huarache vendors, and custom moccasin makers, but I mostly make my own shoes to ensure a good fit and no arch support or heel rise.

  2. I recomend you try making huaraches from scrap leather or rubber. Try leather stores and cobblers for supplies. I spent $40 on a new (not scrap) soling sheet and I have enough to make around four pairs of sandals. If you have other family members to make shoes for or think you'll wear through them quickly this is a good deal. If you're not going to be in the states long, you might order the soling sheet sent to where you will be staying ahead of your arrival.

  3. I hiked in the mountains last week in 4 mm huraches, but most people like something heavier for running. The popular leadvilles are 10 mm.

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I found aqua socks to be too sweaty and my feet slipped around inside them. They didn't offer very much protection from sharp stones, either.

I've been making my own huarache sandals from rubber soling sheets which I've purchased through the web and vegetable-tanned leather and/or suede which I've purchased as scraps from my local Tandy Leather Factory store.

The value I see of huaraches over something like aqua socks or other minimalist shoes is that there is total freedom of my feet. The sole is only held on by a few strands of lacing.

The drawbacks have been that there was some time where I couldn't get hole placement right, some time spent fussing with the tension of the lacing trying to figure that out, and a great deal of time fussing with the materials I've used trying to find something I like.

Fortunately, Barefoot Ted's Luna Sandal website has excellent instructions for making your own pair of sandals. If you can obtain the materials, you will likely succeed if you follow the directions there. The kit is pretty reasonably-priced if you want to buy the materials from him. The materials are inexpensive from Invisible Shoe. Both places have models that are fairly low-priced, although some of the Lunas border on outrageous prices if you ask me. I have not purchased any sandals or kits from either company, only laces from Luna.

As for traveling over difficult surfaces, I have done well with sandals made with a layer of vegetable-tanned leather amongst whatever other layers of soling there might be. The leather is strong and provides better protection from sharp stones than anything else I've tried and makes for a comfortable sandal. Suede against the foot adds another layer of niceness for my foot.

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